My goal for this assignment is to create a mashup of songs that are a couple of years old, but very popular.

Outline/Process (Steps) to Achieve Goal. *

The first step would be to look at top 2016/2017 songs and see which ones are easier to use when transitioning. Next, I would use a song but lower the volume and find good timing for it. This will act as my beat. I will then use a couple for more songs but shorten it to help create the mashup.

Why this project? *

I chose this project because it gives time and an opportunity to put music with one of my interests. It allows me to put more effort into a music project. It also creates an opportunity for me to be more knowledgable about music and applying it into different contexts.

What do you hope to learn? *

I hope to learn how to create a mashup of two completely different songs. I also hope to learn how to use many songs to create a piece that sounds nice. Learning how to use Garageband to the fullest extent to produce a more professional piece of music is what I want to learn.

What are you must haves for this assignment? *

The requirements for my assignment is at least using three songs for my mashup and making sure all my songs come from a similar genre of music. I will also be needing to use Garageband to create my product, as it is the application that I am trying to get better at.

What are your desirable qualities you hope to add in for your assignment? *

I hope to add plugins when the music either starts off or heading towards the end. A desirable quality that I hope to add in my assignment is a very fast paced transition to help vary the beat of my music piece. This will help give more qualities of a mashup.

The process of this assignment is first thinking about the most effective sounds for the song. You have to go outside and around the school and testing the sounds you thought was a good idea, like getting a tissue from a tissue box. Then, you have to look for a teacher that will fit the sound you want to make. A screencast will after have to be made to describe the sounds you found (original) and the sounds with plugins using Garageband. For the screencast Loops, drummers, and software instruments will also be needed. Combining the sounds from all these different categories will be used to create the song for the summative which has to be 2:30+ long. Finally, when you are done doing the song for the summative, you will have to do a reflection of the product.

Discuss your CDNIS sounds and how useful they were for your end product. *

The first sound I came up with was me or one of my friends dribbling a basketball. This was generally one of my more effective sounds. It posed as a very unique beat that makes the song sound interesting throughout the whole piece. The next sound I managed to come up with was the macbook error sound. In my opinion, this was my most useless sound as it is very quiet even though I increased the volume a lot. It is not unique at all, so it in ways makes the piece sound more plain. Then, I found a sound where I was getting tissues from a tissue box. It is very fast paced so it can make the song more entertaining. The main problem is that is way too short, making it slightly worse than the basketball sound. After that, I found a sound of me flicking a harder version of paper closer towards plastic. It had a very pleasant sounding ring which why I used it in my beat making it quite useful. It helped give some variation to my main beat which was the basketball. Finally, in this assignment I had to get a teacher sound. I wanted a good introduction to my song and my friend wanted the same thing. We went and asked a teacher to say “welcome back to school”. It sounds somewhat boring when no plugins are added. When there was some plugins it sounded like it will help progress the song when the song is starting. In this case, it was extremely useful and made my song more interesting.

Evaluate your learning and new skills acquired. *

While doing the assignment the main skill that would be the most useful when producing music is plugins. It in ways distorts the sounds so they sound more smooth and more interesting. For example, the bit crusher makes the sounds have a lower pitch. Plugins work in the users favour as it helps turn the song in their liking. Another skill I learned was creating screencast using different application. In this case, I used Garageband to talk about the sounds being used. It is very effective to discuss something visual on a computer. An okay skill that I learned is using every day sounds. For my piece, the sounds of CDNIS was a big part of the piece and when plugins is used, the everyday sounds is more professional. I also learned the skill to use software instruments without any given notes. In my piece, I used it as a transition for one of the pianos I was using. For the other piano, I gave it a more interesting ending and this is what allowed me to learn the skill.

What challenges did you face and overcome? *

The main challenge I faced in this assignment was finding four different sounds that would each have a different effect. I felt like at that time, it was quite confusing to me where I should go in the school to get my sounds. Also, I didn’t know which sounds should act more of a beat and more of a sound more towards the middle of the song. To fix this issue I chose two sounds that sound more of a beat and the rest somewhere in the piece. The other main challenge I faced was getting my song to 2:30+. In my opinion, I felt like I was adding too many of the same sounds to help make my song 2:30+. This made my song significantly more repetitive and made my sounds of CDNIS less effective. To fix this problem, I only had one option which was to add more loops. So, I added two extra loops which would last long enough past 2:30.

Identify connections between art forms, art and context, or art and prior learning.

Dii

Recognise that the world contains inspiration or influence for art.

What was the inspiration for this song choice? *

I wanted to do a song piece that was somewhat old and on of the more popular songs at that time. I wanted to choose something that was not too hard but not too easy. I really enjoy the tone and pitch of the song. It is more energetic and exciting which I really enjoy about it. The main reason I chose this song because it was in the song book. When I found it in the song book I knew it was a reliable and very good song. I needed a pace that was not too fast which also made this song of my best options in the song book.

How did your music classes as well as your previous music session and assignment prepare you for this assignment? *

I felt very prepared in garageband and the task I had to complete. The only part where I didn’t feel too prepared with is using the digital instrument to make the piece sound better. It felt tough in some parts. The first music session I felt I was just learning the basics so I could play the more easier songs. It teached me a lot in terms of what is needed to play the ukulele effectively. The second session it felt more in-depth with the ukulele and helped me play those harder songs. Overall, I learned a lot in my first session and somewhat of the second session which helped me to feel mostly prepared for this summative.

Performance Skills – Woodwind and Brass

Now respond to these statements…

I have developed the skills required to perform this music successfully over music this year. Explain…*

Over the year I have learned many new skills and developed with them. It made me have different approaches to play the variety of music pieces along the way. A skill I learned and is in development is playing slurs. This helps with connecting notes and making it sound more pleasant. I have developed the skills in this piece by showing how I connected the notes and played with calmness. In the piece I tried to hold the notes for shorter allowing me to somewhat match with the tempo.

I demonstrated the application of skills to create a successful piece of music. This is as good as I can get it! Explain… *

I did demonstrate the skills to create a strong piece of music. Over session 2 I have been practicing these skills in the future for the summative. I made sure that I had the right fingering and played the right notes to sound nice. In the piece I showed the skills by playing with notes mostly played for the right amount of beats and a good connection between the notes. The tone quality was also good with the energetic sound. The intonation was decent with a great high pitch and some parts that are okay having low sound.